In our day to day life we use or want to use shortcuts. We use them to get to our desired destination so that we shorten the time needed to get there. When we are talking about shortcuts in the computer world and Windows Vista, the definition remains the same. A shortcut is a file that contains the path towards another file or folder and, by using it, we get to the desired item faster. In this tutorial I will show you how to create shortcuts and how to place them on your desktop or other locations.In order to understand better how shortcuts work, just imagine that instead of opening Computer ->C:\A folder\another folder\...another folder\file.exe you can just click on an icon that takes you directly to file.exe.

How to create a shortcutTo create a shortcut, go to the desired file/folder, right click on it and select the Create Shortcut option.A shortcut will be created in the same location. Now, you just need to decide where to place it. First, right click on the newly created shortcut and click on Cut. Then, go to your desktop or to any other desired location, right click and select Paste.

To test the shortcut, double click on it. It should open the desired file or folder.

How to create a shortcut and save it directly on your desktopIf you want to have the shortcut placed directly on your desktop, there is an easier method: right click on the desired file/folder, click on Send to and then on Desktop (create shortcut).

How to use the Create Shortcut Wizard

Another way to create a shortcut is to go to the location where the shortcut will be saved, right click and select New and then Shortcut.As you can see from the image below a New Shortcut has been created and all that remains is to have it point at the desired file or folder. To do this, just type the location of your file/folder or click on Browse and navigate to its location.

Once you have found the file/folder, select it, click on the OK button and then on Next.Now, all you need to do is to give it a name and click on the Finish button.